US Marks 25th Anniversary of September 11 Attacks
The Facts
The United States marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks with ceremonies at the Pentagon, the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and New York City. The CIA declassified several dozen presidential daily briefing documents related to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida in the lead-up to the attacks. President Donald Trump spoke at the Pentagon ceremony commemorating the attacks.
How different outlets are framing this
Domestic US outlets largely focused on commemoration, personal reflection, and political controversy surrounding the anniversary. The Washington Post offered a mix of historical retrospectives and human-interest angles — including stories on an F-16 pilot's near-suicide mission, architectural changes since 9/11, and George W. Bush's post-presidential painting — without strongly centering any single political narrative. ABC News similarly leaned toward memorial and emotional framing, including a study on PTSD among first responders. CNN, by contrast, highlighted Trump's decision to repost a January 6-related video hours after the ceremony, framing his behavior as a notable departure from the solemnity of the occasion.
Fox News coverage diverged sharply from other US outlets by focusing primarily on perceived left-wing figures behaving inappropriately at or around the memorial. Stories targeted Abdul El-Sayed for a social media post, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for smiling at the ceremony, and a pro-Palestinian protester near Ground Zero. These stories did not appear in other outlets reviewed, suggesting Fox News was using the anniversary primarily as a frame for political criticism of progressive figures rather than broad commemoration.
International and regional outlets provided notably different context. Al Jazeera, representing a Middle Eastern editorial perspective, avoided commemoration framing almost entirely, instead publishing analyses of the human cost of post-9/11 US wars — citing 4.5 million deaths and 38 million displaced — and critiquing the language of the 'War on Terror' as sanitising human rights erosions. These angles were absent from US domestic coverage. ABC News Australia focused on the intelligence and decision-making dimension, centering the account of the briefer who informed President Bush during the attacks. The divergence illustrates a broader split: US outlets largely framed the anniversary around national memory and domestic politics, while international outlets, particularly Al Jazeera, emphasised the global consequences of the US response to the attacks.
Source Articles
- Al Jazeera12 Sept, 05:26‘War on terror’: How 9/11 changed the language of conflict
The events of September 11, 2001 spawned a new lexicon which effectively sanitised the erosion of human rights.
- ABC News AU12 Sept, 02:43'I think it's Al Qaeda': The man who briefed Bush during 9/11
On September 11, 2001, the White House daily intelligence briefer was with George W Bush's team as the 9/11 attacks unfolded. This is his account of what happened.
- Fox News12 Sept, 01:07El-Sayed ignites firestorm after sharing 9/11 message on social media: 'Piece of s---'
Abdul El-Sayed's 9/11 video message drew fierce online backlash over his association with Hasan Piker, who notoriously claimed America deserved 9/11.
- ABC News12 Sept, 00:52Video America marks 25 years since 9|11
Twenty-five years after Sept. 11, 2001, ABC's David Muir looks back on the day that changed America, and the hope in a phone call decades later.
- Fox News12 Sept, 00:22Firefighter caught on camera ripping pro-Palestinian agitator in Elmo costume near Ground Zero on 9/11
Video captured a firefighter confronting a pro-Palestinian agitator in an Elmo costume near the Ground Zero 9/11 memorial service.
- Politico11 Sept, 21:32At 9/11 ceremony, Giuliani and Mamdani … shake hands?
- CNN11 Sept, 20:55Trump on 9/11 reposts video of him asking January 6 rioters to go home
After marking the September 11 attack in the morning, President Donald Trump in the afternoon was apparently focused on the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack.
- Washington Post11 Sept, 19:53For years, Bush was mocked for this 9/11 moment. Now he’s painted it.
President George W. Bush took up painting after leaving the White House in 2009 and has since made it a conspicuous part of his post-presidency.
- Fox News11 Sept, 19:52AOC, Mamdani interaction caught on cam at 9/11 memorial sparks online fury
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were seen grinning at the 9/11 Memorial as a mourner sobbed nearby on camera.
- Associated Press11 Sept, 18:51CIA releases dozens of declassified daily briefs on 9/11 anniversary
Several dozen presidential briefing documents have been declassified on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. These documents detail intelligence gathered about Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida leading up to the hijackings. The records trace CIA analysts’…
- Washington Post11 Sept, 17:37The best photos from 9/11 remembrance ceremonies in New York, Pennsylvania, DC
Americans gathered at the Pentagon, in Shanksville, Pennsylvania and the New York City area on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
- Washington Post11 Sept, 17:02At the Pentagon, Trump ties the legacy of 9/11 to his Iran war
President Donald Trump spoke at a solemn Pentagon ceremony marking the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and edged close to embracing policies he has long criticized.
- ABC News11 Sept, 15:47Residential air pollution linked to higher depression scores among 9/11 responders: Study
Approximately 39% of responders met criteria for probable PTSD.
- Washington Post11 Sept, 13:00See The Washington Post’s front page from the day after Sept. 11, 2001
Reporters in New York City and Washington documented the aftermath of the terror attacks.
- Washington Post11 Sept, 10:00The architect of 9/11 built the world we inhabit today
The changes to our urban design, architecture and everyday life are so profound we can hardly see them.
- Al Jazeera11 Sept, 05:27‘Everything changed’: The human cost of 25 years of US wars
Successive wars launched after 9/11 have killed at least 4.5 million people and displaced more than 38 million others.
- Associated Press10 Sept, 23:21Chalk portraits honor Flight 93 passengers and crew ahead of 25th 9/11 anniversary
Chalk artists are creating portraits as a tribute to those who died aboard Flight 93 to mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11 at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
- Washington Post11 Sept, 13:31F-16 pilot was ready to give her life on Sept. 11
A pilot reflects on one of the lesser-told tales of Sept. 11: how the first counterpunch the U.S. military prepared to throw at the attackers was effectively a suicide mission.